Served
by Poisonous
Summary: 'I think she hates you.' 'Yeah, well, she isn't exactly little miss sunshine.' 'Yeah, but she is the one holding the knife so you better play nice.'
1. Chapter 1

"And Musiea, he's just so _dreamy_..."

"Uh-huh," Musiea smiled. "Pass me the coffee, Mana?"

Musiea squinted at the computer screen, and sighed. It was a quarter past eight and she still wasn't done with the motion for her case on Friday. This was largely due to the migraine that had been plaguing her since she'd taken her third cup of espresso that afternoon and because Mana had been screaming and giggling for an hour now about god knows what. Musiea knew she had to get this done, not only because she was a diligent lawyer, but because this case was important to her.

"Are you even listening to me?" Mana demanded, fisting her hands at her hips. She shot an accusing look in Musiea's direction which Musiea ignored without pity or regret.

"Of course," Musiea lied. "I just need to finish this and then we can talk about Ayuma - "

"_Ayuta_," Mana corrected. "Are you still working on that case against that jerk?"

"_Jerk face_," Musiea corrected, humoring her. That was the nickname she'd so aptly given to the moron who she was up against. What kind of man sued an orphanage? He had to be heartless. "He's so arrogant, Mana. Can you believe he had a little boy deliver his mention to me yesterday? _Yesterday_! I'm not even halfway done with mine." She shoved a stack of papers in Mana's direction. Mana looked over them with vague disinterest until she found a small, yellow sticky glued to the last page.

"Ms. Du Lac, here is my motion... Blah blah blah," Mana read with an overly deep voice. "... I suggest you have your motion ready by tomorrow."

"Can you believe it?" Musiea exclaimed, indignant. "How dare he suggest by when _I _have _my_ motion ready? If he was here, I'd stab him."

"Wow," Mana paled a little. "You'd do that? I mean sure, he's mean, but killing him isn't going to solve your problems."

Musiea rolled her eyes. "I'm obviously not going to lunge towards him with a knife on sight, Mana. But seriously, who does he think he is?"

Mana squinted at the small, neat stamp on the bottom of the note.

"Escher Prince, apparently."

* * *

Two cups of espresso later, Musiea was starting to feel her migraine disappear. That, and she couldn't feel the majority of her head, but that was fine. The motion was done, printed and sealed. She'd love to see the look on the face of that asshole when he saw it waiting for him in his office! Mana had fallen asleep on the edge of her desk, her body angled awkwardly. She had a steady stream of drool rolling down her cheek and Musiea considered taking a picture for blackmail. Not that it would do her much good; Mana wasn't the kind of friend to do anything that warranted blackmail. God forbid she'd ever have to fight for her life, she'd probably kill herself to spare her enemies.

She tied up her choppy hair into a ponytail, firmly securing it with a stray rubber band that she knew she'd have to cut out later. Her hair wasn't exactly famous for it's displays of cooperation. Musiea gently shoved Mana who mumbled something incoherent before staggering to her feet.

"What time is it," Mana slurred as she wiped away the drool before blinking a few times in rapid succession.

"Four," Musiea answered. "

"Mmkay," Mana replied and she bumped into a chair and giggled. "D'ya have to work tomorrow?"

"Of course," Musiea answered. There wasn't a day she _didn't_ work. Some might call her a work a holic, she preferred to see it as being efficient in her line of work.

"Okay," Mana chirped as she stumbled ahead. "I'll come by tomorrow so we can talk about Ayuta!"

Ayuta happened to be Mana's latest point of interest, a guy who literally showed up out of nowhere. He was found by her chauffeur, asleep on her front lawn. From the little she had payed attention to, Musiea had gathered that he had a strange case of amnesia and Mana, immediately smitten, begged her father to hire him. As far as Musiea knew, Mana had already picked out baby names. Musiea was used to this, as Mana had always been the optimistic type, rarely touching down on reality. That wasn't her fault though. Her family treated her like a princess, and she was spoiled beyond belief. The only association Mana had with the real world was through Musiea and even that had to be administered in small doses.

"Drive slowly," Musiea advised as Mana staggered to her vehicle, an overly showy BMW. Musiea shook her head and headed over to her modest Prius. She was probably going to get three hours of sleep before she was back at the office, sorting through some additional paperwork. She couldn't make a mistake, especially when her client happened to be the orphanage she grew up in. She gripped the steering while and frowned as she thought back on the douchebag who was heading the suit on the orphanage.

Escher Prince was going to die a slow, painful death by her hand. He'd never work another case again.

"So was she cute?"

The boy in front of Escher blushed and looked away.

"C'mon, boy, tell me. Did she have a mole? Was her hair fucked up? Was she -"

"Stop being a moron, Escher."

Escher Prince looked over at one of the most influential lawyers in his division and grinned, shameless. "Don't be a bitch, Eluca. I'm just trying to get some information of my opponent."

Eluca gave him a disapproving look. Escher turned his attention back on the boy.

"So...?"

"She was pretty!" The boy exclaimed, giving under Escher's trademark look. He used it in the courtroom to unnerve his opponents and out of the courtroom to charm women into submission; either way, it always worked. "She had yellow hair and big, blue eyes."

"That's enough Zhamo, you're not his informant. If you want dirt on your opponent, hire a private detective."

"A barbie, eh? Makes sense they'd hire a brainless twit. Not like they could afford anything else. This is going to be an easy win."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Eluca smarted. She was smiling in that predatory way she smiled when she was winning and no one else knew she was winning.

"Yeah, and how would you know? Have you been looking her up, Eluca? Got a little girl crush, there?"

Eluca rolled her eyes. "No, you idiot. She just walked in, and she doesn't look happy."

* * *

okay! so i love the escher musiea dynamic and i wanted to play around with them in an alternate universe. tell me what you're thinking; hate it, love it, want to marry it?


	2. Chapter 2

Eluca sauntered away, swinging her hips in that cocky way that was so characteristic of her. Escher liked her smart, sassy attitude and the way she tore her opponents apart in and out of the courtroom. He sure couldn't stand the rest of her, but he respected that she could stand her ground. She kind of reminded Escher of himself, but marginally less awesome, of course. Eluca was savage, and the only thing she liked more than winning was watching Escher lose.

"Have fun dumbass."

"Fuck you, Eluca."

"Sorry," Eluca drawled as she exited. "I don't do pity fucks."

Before Escher could properly kick her ass, or at least decimate her self esteem (Eluca wasn't an easy target, but he was damned if he was going to let her get the last word), Escher's attention shifted. Out went Eluca, and in came a bumbling blonde. She looked highly pissed off, and had a stack of manilla folders held against her chest. Speaking of her chest, she had a very nice pair of -

"Escher Prince?" she slammed her hands on the front desk. The receptionist stuttered something and blanched. The woman insisted. "Well?"

The receptionist, some college student, passably cute (maybe, if he squinted), swerved her head in his direction. The woman caught the hint and turned sharply in his direction. The glass wall which separated the lobby from the actual offices, didn't stand a chance against her. She walked in like she owned the place, or at the very least, belonged there, and strode over to his desk. She planted the stack of folders on his desk and gave him one of the most remarkable glares he'd ever seen.

Escher was desperately trying to remember if he had dated and dumped her at one point, but couldn't recall. She didn't seem the type he would have dated. Not because she lacked prettiness - this, Escher admitted almost immediately, was not the case - but because she reeked of ambition and talent. The women he frequented couldn't even spell ambition.

"Prince?"

Escher gave her a smooth smile, "That'd be me. What can I do for you, miss?"

She smiled, but it wasn't friendly. Escher recognized it as one of those smiles Eluca gave men who thought they had a chance with her. The pretty blonde narrowed her eyes into the perfect picture of revulsion.

"You can drop dead."

Escher had envisioned Musiea Du Lac to be a boring looking girl, despite Zhamo's claims. The boy thought _every_ woman was pretty. Hell, he even thought Eluca was pretty, which was absurd. He just couldn't correlate the woman in front of him with the woman he was going to destroy. He didn't even want to destroy the creature in front of him. She looked like a child, with her baby blues and her shorn hair.

"While I have many talents, that isn't one of them. Would you prefer something else? Juggling, singing, or maybe coffee?"

Du Lac rolled her eyes, "Save the banter, Prince. I came here for one thing, and one thing only."

Escher laughed. "Right to the point, I can appreciate that. Would you like something to eat? I hear giving up is better on a full stomach."

"My motion," she gestured to the manilla folders. "See you in court."

"Ha," Escher smirked. "You won't get that far."

"You'd be surprised at how far I can go."

Escher raised an eyebrow, "Why Ms. Du Lac, how foward of you."

Her face reddened. "What kind of scum sues an orphanage?"

Escher bit back a comment. If she got worked up, it gave him an advantage. If he got worked up, it gave him a conniption.

"Goodbye, Ms. Du Lac."

He breezily dismissed her from his office and she turned on her heel, unmistably upset but composed. Escher could admire that. Could, but wouldn't. The little girl was obviously not brainless or a Barbie, regardless of how much she resembled one.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Escher couldn't get Du Lac out of his head. He wasn't sure why, but he was brooding over her visit for an obsene amount of time. He couldn't concentrate. He was on his third cup of coffee and he still couldn't focus. Her motion was tucked into the left corner of his desk, ignored. He didn't want to look at it. He didn't want to touch anything associated with her. The more he thought about her, the more Escher tried to convince himself that he wasn't thinking about her. She was pretty, yes, but not _that_ pretty. A bit ordinary looking. He wouldn't pick her out of a crowd of women.

Her insults were pretentious as best. He'd dealt with sinking corporations and divorcing wives who made the mistake of signing prenups. Her quips weren't extraordinary. Escher drew circles on his temples with his thumbs. She was giving him a headache and he'd known her for less than a day.

It was four twenty three. Escher knew he wouldn't sleep tonight. It didn't matter. He never slept much, and when he did he always had the same dream. The dream that had plagued him for years, now. He needed some alcohol, but that wouldn't do. Nothing could erase her memory from him, nothing could eradicate her from his veins.

Aida, he breathed.

He remembered her so vaguely that it made him feel fickle. He was six or seven when they had come together, and nine when they had been torn apart. Escher shook his head. He ambled into his kitchen and found a bottle of Vodka where he left it last. It was like a dependable friend, the only one he could count on.

Escher smiled without any true feeling. Du Lac was at the edges of his thoughts again. It didn't matter, he was alone. He was always alone.

* * *

Hello everyone! I'm grateful to everyone who has read/reviewed this story and I'm very excited to continue it. Your feedback and comments mean a lot to me. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Escher woke up with tears in his eyes. He let them pool at the corner of his eyes momentarily, stunned. He couldn't remember the last time he'd cried. He remembered drinking, nursing a glass of vodka for roughly an hour. The thick glass felt smooth and comfortable beneath his hand. Escher tried to remember when he started drinking. It had been a few months into law school. Unlike most freshman, Escher did not drink to dilute the pressure that was so characteristic of this particular profession. No, people only drank for two reasons - to remember, or to forget. And Escher drank to remember. He drank every night to see Aida's face. Her gorgeous, rounded face. Her warm baby blue's and her quick little mouth.

Escher circled his forfingers on his temples. He looked over at the clock. He was feeling particularly apathetic today. Aida would not approve of his attitude or lifestyle, but so what? Du Lac probably wouldn't either. The small, sedentary smile that had begun to quirk at the corners of his mouth stopped suddenly. Escher frowned at the association he had made, at the line he had drawn. He had to be careful, or he would end up performing less than satisfactorily on this case and that would not be to the liking of the partners.

Escher glanced at the clock once more and sighed. It was time to go, and it was time to let her go.

"God Musiea, do you _ever_ leave this place?"

Musiea glanced at Mana who was obviously bored beyond comprehension.

"Maybe if you spent less time here..." Musiea trailed off.

"Well fine," Mana huffed. "I see I'm not appreciated here!"

Before Musiea could issue a standard, offhanded apology, a blond head peeked at the door. Small, well manicured hands slid over the frame.

Musiea smiled, "Oh hi Vahti, how are you?"

Vahti Warrington, CEO of Warrington Inc. Musiea had fond memories of the first time she saw her. Vahti had been crying, and Musiea had approached her. Musiea was on her way back to orphanage, but Vahti looked so sad and lost that she sat beside her. Once Musiea did this, she started to feel small and stupid, because she didn't know what to say. She fumbled with her hands, wondering how to make the situation less awkward. Vahti solved the problem for her. She stopped crying, looked over at her and said,

"Are you lost?"

Startled, Musiea stood silent, wanting to ask _her_ the same question.

"No," Musiea supplied. "But you looked sad, so..."

"Oh," Vahti said. She had a very kind, foreign face. "Yes, I suppose you could say that. I am very sad."

Musiea thought she was also very brave, to cry in front of strangers. But she still did not know what to say.

"Oh," Musiea said. "Are you going to be okay?"

Vahti looked at her strangely. "I don't know," she answered. "Sometimes, you are so sad that it seems like you're never going to happy again."

Finally, something Musiea could relate to.

"I know just how you feel," Musiea replied. "I lost a friend of mine a couple of months ago. I miss him very much and it makes me sad because I don't know if I'll ever see him again."

"It's terrible to lose someone you love," Vahti nodded. "I lost someone too."

"Who?"

Vahti sighed and looked up at the sky.

"I lost my baby."

At ten years old, Musiea wasn't sure if she meant that she had lost sight of her baby, or that she had misplaced him. But sadness was sadness, so she just sat in silence. They sat in silence for what seemed an eternity, but Musiea attributed that to the impatience of youth. Vahti stood.

From that moment forward, Musiea's life changed. Vahti had walked her to the orphanage and had immediately started the adoption process. As her ward, Musiea was introduced to wealth, prestige, and a superior education. Still, Musiea returned to the orphanage every weekend. It was something she never wanted to forget. She already felt fickle for forgetting the friend she had lost. She wasn't sure how it happened, or when his memory began to blur. She remembered the softness of his eyes and the harshness of his voice. He always meant well, but he was rough and cold. That was how he was raised, he was made to survive. The world was a cold, horrible place, and it had made him into something cold and equally as horrible. Still, for that small time that they were together, Musiea found him to be the kindest person she had ever met. And she had forgotten him.

But even that was somewhat of a lie. The essence of him lingered in her memory, much like her previous name. Musiea sounded more affluent than Aida, and who was she to deny Vahti that one request? Still, Musiea wondered if he would have found her if she had stuck with Aida. If he was looking for her.

Musiea turned her thoughts back to the present. Regrets were such useless things.

"Don't mind her, Mana," Vahti said kindly. "I've brought you something to eat."

"Thanks Mom," Musiea said without looking up from her paperwork. That particular moniker had been easier to swallow with the years until it became a natural progression between them. "I'm almost done here..."

Mana rolled her eyes at the same time Vahti did. They both knew Musiea was _never_ done.

"Okay. Well I'll leave it here for you. Your father and I expect you for dinner sometime this year."

"Yes mom," Musiea said. She wanted to sound annoyed but couldn't bring herself to. She hadn't forgotten what it was like to not eat.

How could Escher Prince sleep easily knowing he was charged with bringing asunder something as harmless as an orphanage? If he succeeded, hundreds of children would go hungry. He was heartless. He was the reason that Musiea studied law. People like him didn't deserve to win. She was going to dig him into a grave so deep, no amount of money or bravado would get him out.

Admittedly, she didn't really want to take this case to trial. That was a waste of money or time. The last time she had seen him she had lost her temper. She wouldn't let that happen again. If she could breach a settlement with him, both parties would be satisfied and there would be no messy proceedings.

It wasn't the first time Musiea had swallowed her pride, but she swore it would be the last.

Du Lac was a vision sitting at his chair. She looked decidedly bored, impatient, and very, very sexy. Escher wondered if there was a chance he could bend her over that desk sometime.

"Is it customary for you to report to your office three hours late?"

Escher didn't like her tone, but he humored her.

"I see you skipped the class where they taught us that breaking and entering is a crime."

"I never skipped a class," Du Lac replied, snobbishly. "Besides - she let me in."

She made a motion behind him and Escher turned. Eluca was grinning at him from the lobby. That bitch. Escher would be sure to slip a laxative in her drink.

"It doesn't matter," Escher said, adopting a mask of nonchalance. "I told you I would see you again."

Du Lac stilled, as if she had been struck. She looked as if she had seen a ghost.

"W-what did you say?"

Escher paused, wondered why she was so afflicted by those words.

"Were you adopted?" she said, finally.

Escher stiffened. "No," he replied sharply. "Why? Is this some pseudo sob story to save your orphanage?"

"No," Du Lac seemed less vivace than usual. She turned her unscrupulous lashes downward and Escher couldn't help but think of Aida.

She smiled. It was the first time he had ever seen her smile, he just wished it wasn't that sad or that broken. She finally looked up at him with some of the ferocity back in her face, but it wasn't enough. The thought of Aida was thinning the air. It was difficult to breathe.

"No," Musiea whispered. The way she was looking at him would have broken his heart if he had one. "You just reminded me of someone I knew."

Hey, I'm not dead. I really want to see this through. Do you?


End file.
